The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, says it is undertaking rehabilitation of pipelines and depots to strengthen the country’s energy infrastructure.

The Chief Corporate Communications Officer, CCCO, of NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye stated this in an interview with journalists on Saturday.

He noted that the ongoing rehabilitation project, which is expected to be completed within 2 to 3 years, would resolve longstanding challenges in petroleum distribution.

Soneye further explained that upon completion, Nigeria will achieve sustainable crude oil supply to refineries, seamless product distribution through pipelines, reduced reliance on trucks, improved energy security and reduced fuel importation, lower transportation costs and reduced road hazards caused by fuel tankers.

In his words: “We can assure Nigerians that NNPC’s pipeline and depot rehabilitation project is With a structured financial model, strategic partnerships, and committed execution, the initiative is set to resolve longstanding challenges in petroleum supply and strengthen the country’s energy infrastructure for the long term.”

He continued that though there are limited financial resources, which continues to pose a challenge in executing both refinery and pipeline rehabilitation projects simultaneously, “we are exploring creative and innovative approaches to ensure a cost-effective funding model to proceed with the pipeline and depot rehabilitation.”

The company, Soneye acknowledged, has already designed a robust rehabilitation plan for the pipelines and depots, and would be deploying a new financial model – Finance, Build Operate and Transfer (FBOT) approach,” he stated.

Speaking further, he noted that apart from the fact that the ongoing activities won’t be limited to the construction of new crude oil and product pipelines to replace obsolete ones, he opined that advanced technology would be provided to enhance pipeline security, prevent vandalism and rehabilitation and modernization of storage terminals to support.

According to him, the NNPCL is working towards transforming Nigeria into a self-sufficient producer and net exporter of refined petroleum products and the very first step in that direction is the successful rehabilitation work that has birthed the renewed operations of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

“The rehabilitation and upgrade of the Old Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries by the end of 2024 marked a significant milestone in this journey.

“And, as you know, work on the new Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries is at advanced stages, reinforcing the commitment to eliminating fuel importation,” he stated.

The Managing Director, PalmPay Nigeria- one of Africa’s leading fintech platforms, Chika Nwosu has restated the commitment of the company towards the adoption of cashless payments across the country.

Nwosu disclosed this during a media roundtable held on Friday, January 17, 2025 at the company’s headquarter in Lagos.

Speaking during the interactive session, he noted that the platform would continue to leverage cutting-edge technology by making world-class financial services available to the mass market particularly in regions where it is needed the most.

He disclosed that the platform remains the biggest financial app in Nigeria given the fact that it currently boasts of 16 million active users on a monthly basis.

According to him, the platform remains committed to driving financial inclusion in underserved communities hence the reason for expanding rapidly into new markets.

He revealed that the value of monthly transactions on the app was estimated to be worth $6 million with a success rate of transaction at 99.5%.

Also speaking, Head, Risk and Compliance, MLRO, PalmPay, Donald Ubeh explained that the platform currently serves over 35 million customers and 1.2 million business users who operate as both merchants and agents adding that the users operate digital accounts, make real-time payments, and offer savings and credit solutions.

“ In 2024, PalmPay Wealth pays out N4 billion in returns to customers, reinforcing its commitment to financial empowerment for Nigerians,” Ubeh said.

Buttressing the fact that the platform was not a loan app, he described it as a reputable financial institution that is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He stated that a lot of systems and mechanisms have been put in place to save unsuspecting victims of fraud.

The Managing Director, PalmPay, Chika Nwosu has identified smartphone penetration, internet connectivity and innovative technologies as key factors that are crucial to increased access to mobile money services in Nigeria.

Nwosu stated this during an interactive engagement with the media held at the company’s head office in Lagos on Friday, January, 2025.

According to him, with smartphone penetration projected to reach 65% by 2026 as well as improved internet infrastructure, more Nigerians will be enabled to access mobile money services.

He disclosed that, with fintech companies such as PalmPay evolving through digital wallets and seamless payment gateways, accessibility to mobile money service was bound to expand soon.

He emphasized that with the demand for affordability of financial services growing, more opportunities would be unlocked for PalmPay in the near future.

“From under 10,000 agents in 2015 to over 1.5 million agents in 2023, agent networks have become the backbone of mobile money operations in Nigeria. For this reason, we are more likely to see a sharp increase in the number of mobile money agents and merchants. Apart from that, MMOs will increasingly use artificial intelligence to improve customer experiences, such as machine learning, predictive analytics, and fraud detection,” he said.

Also speaking, Head, Risk and Compliance, MLRO, PalmPay, Donald Ubeh revealed that an effort was ongoing to remove Nigeria from the FATF Grey list. He stated that with more collaboration with regulators and other financial institutions, it was only a matter of time that Nigeria’s name will be expunged from the list.

While highlighting the impact of fintech companies such as PalmPay, Ubeh explained that the berth of PalmPay has led to economic empowerment, particularly for users and several Small and Medium Scale enterprises.

He noted that many Nigerians including bank customers have migrated their funds to PalmPay owing to convenience and accessibility it provides.

He added that mobile money operators were conceived with the aim of driving financial inclusion for the underserved and unbanked population.

According to EFInA, increasing adoption of fintech companies by Nigerians has led to an increase in financial inclusion rate by 13% in 13 years.